He'd never had to make the adjustments and compromises other people accepted early in their romantic careers; never had a chance to learn the lesson that Sarah taught him everyday--that beauty was only a part of it, and not even the most important part, that there were transactions between people that occurred on some mysterious level beneath the skin, or maybe even beyond the body.
Tom PerrottaI was an English major in college, I went to a creative-writing program, and all my life, I really read and thought about fiction as a craft and an art form. I feel like I know a lot about it, and can trust my instincts.
Tom PerrottaTo this day, sheโs still sad. Because thereโs not some finite amount of pain inside us. Our bodies and minds just keep manufacturing more of it. Iโm just saying that I took the pain that was inside of her at that moment and made it my own. And it didnโt hurt me at all.
Tom PerrottaThe lesson you have to learn as novelist is how to be collaborative, and how to say, "I don't get to dictate this."
Tom Perrotta